Each line item requires a multi-faceted and coordinated response from the global body, which in turn necessitates enlightened, principled and strong leadership from the very top. Now more than ever.

The world is full of capable professionals, people who are expert in their fields, but the requirements for a great leader are actually quite different. Leaders need to be solution-oriented, consensus builders and eloquent advocates and inspirers of their constituency.

In the case of the UN secretary general, the constituency is the world. There’s no bigger brief and surely that demands we eschew parochialism and get the best person for the job.

I know both antipodean candidates for the post, having met and interviewed Helen, an enlightening experience, I can assure you.

I also have a strong sense of Kevin’s qualities, through his various travails in charge of Australia but also through the lens of his brother Greg Rudd, who I interviewed when he was standing as an independent senator for Queensland.

The picture Kevin’s own brother paints is of a leader who doesn’t build consensus and who does not utilise the best talent around him.

What I’m hearing is that it is very unlikely to be either Clark or Rudd. The P5 members do not necessarily want the strongest person for the job. They want a Secretary-General who is compliant – and that isn’t Helen. One diplomatic source remarked that the P5 ideal candidate is Ban Ki-moon again, but with better English.

So Clark’s chances are pretty low. Even if the US and Russia mutually veto all the Eastern Europeans, I think other candidates are more likely to get through. Rudd not being nominated probably doesn’t change things greatly as he was never really in with a chance.

jp_1983

duggledog

I would love to see Clark fail. Just desserts for all the rotten things she’s done as far as I’m concerned.

As far as regards this comment: “If ever the world needed a strong United Nations secretary general, surely that time is now.”

What a load of balls. Does Alex truly believe the ineffective, touchy-feely UN crowd are going to be able to do anything about the discontent rife in the world today? After their agenda has been, the whole time, to push multiculturalism? Just tell me how effective they were in Rwanda again? Or any other conflicts they were able to shut down?

No the world needs a hard man, with actual business experience, unaffected by the furtive machinations of Game of Thrones style global politics etc, preferably a Westerner.

In direct contrast with the loons who think such a leader would ultimately lead to global war, I think we’re headed straight towards it now, and a leader as I have described is more likely to stop it happening.

Huevon

This guy sounds like another sell out cut from the globalist liberal cloth. Dollars to donuts his “business” credentials were gained clocking time at a big corp multi national promoting diversity. How telling that his list of problems in the world doesn’t include Islamic terrorism.

Hajji

kiwiradar

Ummmm the CEO of the Accountants lobby group doesn’t quite have heavy weight business credentials! The UN is incapable of engaging today’s crises because it gives each country 1 vote and sadly many votes are either for sale or just ideologically or religiously tainted.